Bismarck weekly tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, Dakota [N.D.]) 1884-1943, 1887-01-07
AWFUL ACCIDENTS.
A Passenger and Freight on the Bal
timore 4 Ohio Collide, Near
Tiffin, Ohio.
Several Passengers Killed and Many
Wounded--The Fearful Scene
at the Wreck,
A Passenger Train in Massachusetts
Thrown From the Track by
a. Broken Wheel.
The Baltimore s. Ohio Accident.

The Baltimore s. Ohio Accident.
TIFFIN, Ohio, Jan. AT 2 o'clock this |
morning the west-bound fast, train known
as the Erie express on the Baltimore & |
Ohio road, collided with freight train one
half mile west of Republic. The express
does not M AXE stop at the town of Repub- /
lie, villaH He of 900 inhabitants, nine miles
west of this city, and it is supposed it was
runninti ait speed of not less than sixty
mites an hour The freight eastward
'nnd HAD expected to make siding at
and was probably making run
not less than twenty miles per
i this in opposite directions on the
Eck caused a telescope ard as clear
5saster as has ever been witnessed.
#gines were run into each other as
Depipe fits into its mate, and all that
De seen was one chaotic mass
i, iron and steel. At an early hour
s5ere hundreds of people coming to
5:ne of the disaster ready and anxious
what they could, but it appears that
3 soon as the Baltimore & Ohio agents
gee to the place where the wreck oc-
4, for some reason they were be-
I'd to hastily carry out of the county
s'ounded, dying and dead. Your cor
,ndent was only permitted to see four
)ns that had escaped the awful holo-
/, in which it is believed that there
at least twenty-five bodies burnt into
:kening crispy mass of flesh and bones,
,ond all possible recognition. From the
report of a survivor it would appear that a
number of unfortunates were so perfectly
incinerated that their ashes could not be
gathered from the debris. The sight
was most forbidding. 1t has been re-
ported that the engineers on this
road have been badly overworked.
There was no way by which relief could be
brought to the train until it was too late to
be of any good The ground was covered
with snow, and the collision occurred one
mile from the town and nearly half a mile
from any dwelling. At 2 O'Clock in the
morning, it is related of one Bradley, a
prominent Knight oil Labor from Wash
ington. who, while the flames were burst
ing from the car windows which had been
broken in the crash of the collision, that he
by some means put out his hand and
threw his watch and pocket book to those
whom he could see on the outside. He was
pinned in the inside and was being roasted
alive, but these who saw him were una
BILE to render him any assistance. The
charred remains of the express messenger
consisted simply of the thigh bones, which
were found in the debris of the car. The
engineer and fireman of the freight re-
versed their engines and jumped for the
snow bank. The engineer of the express
reversed his engine and sprang to the left.
The fireman endeavored to get out to the
right, but, being overcome with fright, fell
close to his engine and was burned to death.
The engines Of the two trains We're
raised into the air like pair of enraged
living monsters and then settled down
upon the track, driven into each other un-
til the cylinders touched. The force of the
impact jammed the baggage cars into the
tender. In less than five minutes from the
moment of the collision, and before any Or
ganized effort at rescue could be made, the
fires of the overturned stoves communi-
Gated to the woodwork and flames leaped
high into the air, their roar mingling with
the cries of anguish of the
IMPRISONED VICTIMS
The train men and uninjured passengers
could do nothing to rescue the sufferers.
The smoker contained from twelve to tif-
teen passengers, some of whom were emf
grants. Three men escaped alive, but
their names were not learned. Baggage
master w. F. Gates, of Newark, was the
only man in his car, and he was hurt in
both legs. c. P. Bradley, of Washing
ton, D. c., was found hanging from win
dow of the smoker, but his legs were fast
and he could not be removed. There he
remained until he was burned to death.
He was conscious and gave his address to
the bystanders and also said that ne was
an officer Of the Knights of Labor. He
gave his watch and other valuableS to Con-
ductor Fletcher. Joseph Postlethwait, aged
81, and his sons, Spencer, aged 1S, and
Henry, aged II, were sitting in the same
mains were found in the ruins of the car
About $500 in cash, a check for $500 and
several notes were in his pocket, and these
were burned with his body, leaving his
poor widow with three children, who were
saved from the wreck, no clothing except
what she wore and fifty cents in money.
William Fredericks, the fireman of the eX-
press. was caught between the tender and
engine and lived for two hours. but it was
found impossible to effect his release. Mr.
Parks. whose address could not be learned
was also Wedged in the wreck and
BURNED TO DEATH.
after handing his money, letters and cards
to one of the raroad employees. Private
kilograms from Bellaire, Ohio, announce
that Grant Mansel and George Simpson, of